The weekly newsletter of the Mexico Solidarity Project

Every issue archived online at mexicosolidarityproject.org

March 05, 2025

Adam and Eve? No, Adam vs. Eve!

Meizhu Lui, for the editorial team

In the Bible, the first two humans created by God lived in the Garden of Eden, where God gave them everything they needed, under one condition: don’t eat the apple! Then Eve took a bite, and then Adam did too.

When men read this story, they see Eve as the first sinner, the one who got humans kicked out of Eden. No more free lunch. Therefore, women deserve eternal blame and punishment.

We women see it differently. Eve bit into the apple of knowledge, while Adam was content to be ignorant. When he followed her lead by taking a bite, he did so of his own free will. Another way to read the story is that women are smart, curious, resourceful — and the leaders of men.

Unfortunately, might makes right. Adam turned against Eve with physical force, buttressed by psychological pressure, to limit women’s possibilities, including denying them the right to make decisions about their own bodies. As Elizabeth O’Brien’s research shows, both religion and secular society kept the male myth of women’s inferiority going; both Church and state practiced obstetrical violence, (mis)treating women’s bodies as less human than males or the unborn — whether in the name of salvation or science.

But ever since we left Eden, women have resisted and insisted that no matter the gender differences, we are all equal. On International Women’s Day, we’ll once again take to the streets and celebrate what we’ve won — and demand what we still don’t have: recognition of our full humanity.

For a deeper dive into current news and analysis in English, check out our media website. And definitely see the new English podcast ¡Soberanía! (Sovereignty) with José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth. 

Sin Muros is a weekly program dedicated to analyzing the Mexico-US relationship. An experienced team of journalists reports news, analysis and research from both sides of the border. Their cultural segments and interviews help to build understanding between Mexico and its migrant community. (English + Spanish)

We're going to Guanajuato, Mexico!

The Mexico Solidarity Project is having a face-to-face gathering in Guanajuato, Mexico, March 7 - 12, 2025. The bulletin will not be published on March 12, 2025.  We will return on March 19, 2025.

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Contested Terrain: Women’s Bodies

Health care is described as “neutral,” meaning well-trained doctors use their knowledge and skills for the good of all. Is that true?

Medical treatment is far from neutral! The state often determines how medical practice is structured, and it’s usually with deeply embedded discrimination practices. Social attitudes on gender and race often determine how women are treated, particularly in reproductive health care.

The field of obstetrics and gynecology — the medical specialty of women’s reproductive health — didn’t develop until the 19th century. In Mexico during the first centuries of Spanish rule, women gave birth at home, and midwives attended to them. In New Spain, to be licensed, midwives had to show “purity of blood” — they couldn’t be Moorish or Jewish — so already in the Spanish empire, you see the state setting terms for care. But for the vast majority of women, a local midwife provided care at home. For most of human history, pregnancy, abortion and birth were women’s exclusive territory.

A Mayan Tsotsil midwife in Chiapas, photo courtesy of Organization of Indigenous Doctors of Chiapas (OMIECH)

The debates about the relative value of women vs. unborn embryos took place in the Catholic Church. How did this affect obstetrics?

So, until the 1800s, abortion was common in Mexico and elsewhere. Women decided themselves whether to use herbal methods to regularize their periods or induce miscarriages. How did men enter into what had been a private women’s sphere? To conform with patriarchy, which was considered part of “modern” secular thought in the 19th century, the Mexican state and other nations determined that medical and state authorities should have control over women’s bodies.

You call the Catholic surgical practices for women “salvational surgery.” In the name of salvation, women were subjected to “obstetrical violence.” What was going on?

The Church believed that surgery could redeem women, children and the nation. It could save unborn children through baptism; a woman could atone for her sins by bearing a living child without regard for her own life. The population would multiply to the benefit of Spanish empire-building in New Spain. Even after Spain’s rule ended, the Catholic Church continued to influence the theory and practice of obstetrics. This remained true even during anti-clerical backlash, when authorities asserted secularized power but still mimicked forms of Catholic authority.

In the 18th century, C-sections — when the mother’s abdomen and uterus are cut open to remove the fetus — were already occurring. Male priests operated to extract and baptize the unborn child, whose life had priority over that of the mother. Most priests had little training apart from a “how to” pamphlet imported from Sicily in the 1740s, and as you can imagine, few women survived this surgery. Most were likely to die in any case, but this procedure made death more horrifying. For the church, a woman’s corporeal death was acceptable if it earned eternal salvation for their child’s soul.

Some unmarried women who were pregnant sought refuge in clinics, and, until the nineteenth century, many clinics were staffed by a religious group called the Sisters of Charity. In the 1850s, the revolutionary Reforma movement challenged the dominance of the Catholic Church and some of its representatives.

Sisters of Charity

Medicine became secularized, and the Sisters of Charity were ousted from their role. But not so much because they were religious, but because they were women. Some male authorities debated the issue and straightforwardly asked, “How can women who are made hysterical by their hormones be responsible for medical care?!” Male obstetricians took over, but as in other nations, this didn’t improve medical care. Women practitioners who considered women’s sexual and reproductive behaviors in terms of sin and salvation were replaced by scientists who blamed women for their own suffering.

Were there differences in the treatment of white women and women of color?

The “salvational” ethos of previous times continued into the 20th century. One development was eugenics, the study of how to “improve” the genetic quality of populations — that is, how to save the white race from contamination through miscegenation, the mixing of races. Eugenicists used Indigenous and Afro-Mexican women for surgical experimentation with the purpose of stamping out non-European heredity. For example, they “studied” why indigenous women were short, which they interpreted as an inferior characteristic or one signaling hereditary deficiency.

In spite of Mexico still being Catholic and this appalling history of obstetric violence, Mexico has succeeded in decriminalizing abortion, and more and more states are making abortions legal and available on demand. Is this sufficient?

Universal prenatal care is our biggest need — it’s the crucial factor for ensuring a safe childbirth.

For example, excellent historical work by Gabriela Soto Laveaga shows that, in Mexico, Indigenous midwifery has been decriminalized and has even become romanticized, but midwives still lack proper state support. Even today, society does not provide them with needed resources, such as sterile gloves, vaccines and emergency transportation for their patients.

But for sure, Mexico is moving in the right direction. Thank goodness we have a strong history of feminist movements — that’s what has made our progress possible. We won’t stop fighting for women’s right to make our own sexual and reproductive choices.

Fernanda Canales: Social Housing Reimagined

Mercado Mirador

The first image attracting me to the architecture of Fernanda Canales was of the Mercado Mirador, a public plaza in the small border town of Naco, Sonora. The towering round shapes that open to the sky were so graceful and elegant. 

Are you allowed to do that in architecture? I know nothing about rules of architecture, but I do know that the design and functionality of a building must both work. How does she put these puzzle pieces together? Let’s take a look.

All things need maintenance, and these projects are not exceptions. She addresses these issues:

In her words:

The biggest challenge is to try to lessen inequalities through architecture, to provide safety, liberty, and comfort, and to empower any user of the building — from the owner to the person who does the cleaning.

and …

Many of these [traditional] massive developments were a failure, specifically regarding water resources, garbage, and light. Because they were so far away nobody went to pick up the garbage or they were not connected to proper water systems.

. . . it was really important to incorporate uses that were part of the history and the culture of people. For instance, it’s very normal for people to do and hang their laundry outdoors. Equally, many people are used to cooking outside because they can’t buy a refrigerator, or they can’t buy a stove. So, it was important to create outdoor spaces for those types of communal activities.

Her beautiful design sense combined with serious structural planning makes her a well-respected and inspiring professional who has included all the right pieces of the architecture puzzle for real people, in the real world, in real places.

Centro de Desarrollo Comunitario Naco, Sonora, 2023

Recent news reports and commentaries, from progressive and mainstream media,
on life and struggles on both sides of the US-Mexico border. Compiled by Jay Watts.

Patrick Lawrence, Speak, Claudia! Scheerpost. “Her fundamental cause is Mexican sovereignty, Mexican equality among nations, and the dignity of the Mexican people. Whatever red lines she may draw, one way or another, they will mark out these priorities.”

Enrique Méndez y Fernando Camacho, Recepción de legislador marroquí suscita reclamos del PT a Morena La Jornada. La insistencia de Morena para realizar la sesión solemne fue tal, que la diputada Margarita García resaltó que, en contraste, a finales de enero se negó el ingreso a la embajadora de Palestina, Nadya R.H. Rasheed.

Judicial ‘corruption’ played a role in extradition decision Mexico News Daily. García Harfuch subsequently told reporters there was a risk that some of the 29 defendants sent to the USA could have been released from prison if they remained in Mexico.

Carlos Fernández-Vega, México SA: Soberanía energética, fortalecida La Jornada. El gobierno federal cuenta ya con las herramientas legales necesarias para que los mexicanos recuperen lo que paulatinamente les arrebató el régimen neoliberal, cuyo último mandatario, Enrique Peña Nieto, intentó clavar la puntilla con lo que denominó "reforma" energética, que no fue otra cosa que la privatización de la riqueza nacional en ese sector, de nueva cuenta al servicio del país.

Jasper Ward, Mexico has proposed matching US tariffs on China, Bessent says Reuters. If accurate, would be an unpopular move, as Mexican workers with small purchasing power greatly benefit from Chinese goods which are cost-effective and superior to American products, especially in the electric vehicle market.

Sabina Berman, Los pragmáticos de Morena se han vuelto un lastre El Universal. “Son los antes llamados Pragmáticos de Morena que hoy se han vuelto una aduana que cobra demasiado para sí. Yo prefiero llamarles los Corruptos, porque en cada canje toman para sí unas cuantas monedas (o un chorro de monedas), amén que simplemente no creen en el ideal de la Izquierda.”

Jean Arce and Yussel Gonzalez, Does Mexico's Capo Handover Mark New Phase In Anti-drug Fight? Barron’s. Missing among all the Anglo analysis is that Mexico’s judicial reform, derided by corporate media who secretly worry that bribery by US corporations will be threatened, will allow the Mexican state to act with confidence as judges are less likely to grant amparos (injunctions) to protect jailed members of organized crime groups.

Alejandro Páez Varela y Álvaro Delgado Gómez, MCCI malversó fondos de USAID, dice Inteligencia Financiera de México Sin Embargo. Pablo Gómez Álvarez, titular de la UIF, expuso que la USAID suspendió en julio de 2023 los apoyos a Mexicanos Contra la Corrupción y la Impunidad. Se estima que este organismo le entregó a la asociación al menos 96 millones de pesos entre 2018 y enero de 2024.

The CTM buries its nine decade relation with the PRI and shakes hands with Morena Mexico Daily Post. After 89 years of alliance with the PRI, the Confederation of Workers of Mexico (CTM) took an unexpected turn: it is getting closer to Morena and leaving behind the party that has sheltered it since its founding with Lázaro Cárdenas back in the 1930s.

Víctor Gamboa, CTM se alinea con la 4T; Aceves del Olmo va por dirigencia otra vez El Universal. En una asamblea sin priistas, resuelve que el actual líder encabece la planilla en 2026. La central reafirma su apoyo a Sheinbaum.

The Mexico Solidarity Project brings together activists from various socialist and left organizations and individuals committed to worker and global justice. We see the 2018 election of Andrés Manuel López Obrador as president of Mexico as a watershed moment. AMLO and his progressive Morena party aim to end generations of corruption, impoverishment, and subservience to US interests. Our Project supports not just Morena, but all Mexicans struggling for basic rights, and opposes US efforts to undermine organizing and Mexico’s national sovereignty.

Editorial committee: Meizhu Lui, Bruce Hobson, Agatha Hinman, Victoria Hamlin, Courtney Childs, Pedro Gellert.  To give feedback or get involved yourself, please email us!

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